1
as in bland
lacking in qualities that make for spirit and character
a milk-and-water campaign speech that most likely did not inspire a single person
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weak
lacking strength of will or character
we need to elect a leader with a bold vision, not someone who's been a milk-and-water yes-man all his life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for milk-and-water
Adjective
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Street Kings is bland, forgettable pulp — Reeves doesn’t enliven it, getting buried along with the rest of a fine ensemble that includes Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, and a pre-Captain America Chris Evans.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
18 Oct. 2025 -
Companies such as OpenAI fine-tune the models behind modern chatbots not just to imitate existing writing, but to use the particularly bland and cheerful style that any chatbot user recognizes.—
Vauhini Vara,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Relief on that levy—which stacks on top of Liberation Day tariffs—could be a boon for the Asian nation at a time when domestic demand is weak.—
Bloomberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
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There, interactions between streams of liquid iron generate a magnetic field one quintillion times more powerful than that of an ordinary lab magnet (but thousands of times weaker than the Sun’s).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Without getting into spoilers, her one-and-done appearance in Episode 5 presents the perfect opportunity for the more-than-capable Meester to match wits with Bell’s judgmental Joanna, only to strand the actor with boring, obvious jokes and saddle her with a feeble resolution.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
23 Oct. 2025
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Now, adidas is also proving that hiking boots don’t have to look boring, since the brand’s perfect-for-fall versions are attractive as can be, what with their mingling of brown with other earth tones.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The large flowers have an iridescent lavender eye and stand atop evergreen foliage that adds soft blue-green hues to the garden year-round.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
27 Oct. 2025
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The species is a red gorgonian soft coral found along the Pacific coast from Chile to California.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The pair took a spin through the watery exhibits, and then Hanks clasped his hands together.—
Sarah Larson,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
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Homemade versions almost always skew watery, more like soup than a thick, smooth mash.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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While the power opportunities are bright, the current earnings reports are much more dour as the oil sector slogs along with weakened activity.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
23 Oct. 2025
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However, Bon Jovi found a surgeon who performed a medialization thyroplasty surgery, a cutting-edge procedure in which an implant was placed on the outside of his vocal cord to rebuild the weakened cord.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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On the road, the Murano sidesteps the insipid CVT vibe of the past.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
17 Aug. 2025
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Callahan’s baritone is rich and full, but the rest of the instrumentation feels insipid.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Also like Lynch, Robinson’s onscreen world hums with quiet dread, a sense that something sinister lurks just beneath the veil of the everyday banal.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
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Were the subject banal or frivolous, the approach would offer no more than one caper after another.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
7 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Milk-and-water.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/milk-and-water. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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